


Occupational Hazard

by OreoLuvr13



Series: The Aches and Pains of Sonny Carisi [5]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Barisi - Freeform, Established Relationship, M/M, Post Episode: s20e10 Alta Kockers, hurt carisi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-04 13:41:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17899157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OreoLuvr13/pseuds/OreoLuvr13
Summary: Thousands of people are treated in the ER every year for product instability and and tip-over injuries...





	1. Chapter 1

“Raf?” Carisi calls out as he enters the apartment. There’s no answer. He lets out a tired sigh and rubs his forehead tiredly. It’s been a long day. The Bobbi O’Rourke case turned into a mess and led to a completely different direction that kept him at the Edelman house for most of the day. But after the discovery of the mother’s body and the brothers’ separate but equally devastating disclosures, it was finally time to call it a day.

“Raf? You home?” Carisi calls out again, taking off his coat and making his way to the kitchen. He smiles when he sees Barba unpacking containers from a takeout bag. Not just any takeout bag, but one from his favorite Thai place. “Hey.”

Rafael looks up from their dinner and rolls his eyes as he points to the cell phone that’s nestled between his cheek and shoulder. “Mami…mami...let me get going…Sonny just walked in…will do… Yes…Saturday…Buenas noches mami.”

“Hey,” Sonny says as he grabs a beer from the fridge. “Thanks for picking us up dinner. My favorite Thai place.” Weary, he squints at his partner. “What did you do?”

“Why do you say that?” Rafael asks looking aghast. 

Sonny’s not convinced. Rafael would prefer at least ten other types of takeout over Thai. 

“Fine,” Rafael relents and takes a sip of his drink. “My mother roped us into brunch on Saturday.”

“So this is your way sucking up to me?” Sonny asks. He takes a sip of his beer but he’s not feeling it. He’s tired and he’s definitely hurting. Then again after the day he’s had, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. He puts down the beer on the counter dejectedly. 

“Oh come on, Sonny.” Rafael quips. “She’s not that bad. And besides we just went to your parents’ house for Sunday supper last weekend.”

Sonny shakes his head. He can’t help but let out a wince when he feels a sharp stitch in his side. Luckily his back is facing the former DA so Rafael is blind to Sonny’s pained expression. “It’s not that.”

Rafael wraps his arms around the younger man and softly says, “Rough day?”

Usually being in the older man’s warm embrace brings comfort and warmth to the detective at the end of a long day, no matter how awful the day was. Not tonight though. Tonight the embrace hurts Sonny’s aching side.

“Hey, you okay?” Barba asks breaking away from Sonny. “You’re quiet. Too quiet.”

Sonny nods. “Long day. Even rougher case.”

He doesn’t go into specifics. Sometimes he does when a particularly rough case comes up. Because even though Rafael may no longer be in the DA’s office, he’s still a great sounding board. He knows what Sonny sees on a daily basis. Knows how the job weighs and eats away at you. But today, Sonny can’t bring himself to say much, All he wants to do is take a hot shower and go to bed, preferably with his arms  
wrapped around his partner.

“You want to talk about it?” Rafael asks.

Sonny shakes his head. “Not now. Maybe later?”

Rafael shrugs. “Okay. I’m here whenever you’re ready.”

Sonny can’t help but smile because he already knows that. He knows that Rafael will be there for him. He doesn’t need to be told something he already knows.

“Let’s eat,” Sonny says as he leans in to kiss Rafael on the corner of the mouth. He breaks away when Rafael leans in to deepen the kiss. 

“You’re such a damn tease!” Rafael says. Sonny can’t help but laugh as he makes his way to the kitchen table. 

XXXXX

Sonny jerks himself awake. It’s dark. He’s back at the Edelman house. His chest aches. There’s a dull pain in his stomach. The book case is on him and pressing down onto him, hurting him. He tries frantically to get the books off him, but his hands only meet air. What the hell…

“Sonny! Sonny! Damn it, wake up!”

There’s a familiar, warm hand on his face. He opens his eyes but it takes longer than it should for his eyes to take in his surrounding and realize where he is. Or where he isn’t. He’s not at the Edelman house. He takes in the familiar entertainment center. He’s home. And from the kink in his neck, he’s on his couch.

“Rafi?” He croaks out.

He feels a thumb rubbing his cheek. “Yeah, it’s me.”

Sonny opens his eye to see a worried Rafael sitting by him on the couch. “What happened?”

“Well, I’m no detective but it looks like you had one hell of a nightmare.”

“Smart ass,” Sonny quips as he sits up. He can’t help but let out a grunt when the movement aggravates his sore side. “I fell asleep?”

Rafael’s eyes furrow in concern. “Yeah barely touched your dinner and fell asleep on the couch a couple of hours ago.”

Sonny runs his hand through his hair. Rafael is already in his pajamas. He clearly showered and got ready for bed all when Sonny was asleep. Man, how long was he out? “Is it late? What time is it?”

Rafael looks at his watch. “It’s almost midnight. I didn’t want to wake you up. I know you had a long day.”

“It’s fine,” Sonny says. “I obviously needed the sleep. I guess I should take a shower and head to bed.” But as Sonny goes to stand up, the dull pain that’s has taken residence in his left side since he woke up, suddenly pulses in throbbing agony.

“What’s wrong?” Rafael asks from his side. “What’s going on?”

Sonny winces. “I’m okay. Just moved the wrong way.”

Rafael isn’t fooled. “Fine my ass. What the hell happened to you? You do something at work? Do I have to call Liv?”

The detective shakes his head. “No! Don’t call her. It’s late.” Besides she probably has no idea what happened at the Edelman home. He never filled out an incident report. 

Rafael is shaking his head. Sonny’s answer is not having the desired effect. He can see Rafael looking around the living room to locate his phone. “Okay, I took a stumble at work. I must have bruised some ribs. I’m fine though. I promise.”

Rafael quirks his eyebrow. “Sonny…”

“Rafi,” Sonny says sporting the best smile his exhausted, aching body can manage at nearly midnight on a Wednesday night. “I’m okay. I promise.” Then for good measure he leans and kisses Rafael. “Come on, let’s head to bed.”

Sonny is already slowly heading towards their bedroom, leaving Rafael to turn off the lights and lock up. “You better be.”

XXXXX

With his job at Hudson, Rafael can now sleep in. Well sleep in later than he did when he was still in the DA’s office. It’s Thursday, so that means he doesn’t have to get up until eight. His criminal procedural law class doesn’t start until eleven and his office hours aren’t until two. Normally, on Thursdays Sonny is the first one up, is showered and dressed, with the coffee made before Rafael even begins to stir.

But when Rafael wakes this morning, he doesn’t smell the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Nor does he hear the shower running. Confused, he opens his eyes to see Sonny’s sleeping form facing him. He looks at his watch. 7:53. Shit. Sonny never sleeps this late.

“Hey…” Rafael whispers loudly as he shakes the other man’s shoulder. It takes a few more shakes before Sonny sleepily blinks his eyes open.

“Mornin’” Sonny greets rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Wha’ time is it?”

“Almost eight. You better get going,” Rafael says quietly as he takes in the dark bags under Sonny’s eyes, making his fair complexion look downright pale. He looks like crap.

Sonny’s eyes get cartoonishly big. “Shit! I gotta get going. Gonna be late.” Sonny bites back a groan as he scrambles from the bed to head to the shower.

“And that’s my cue to make the coffee,” Rafael says getting up, heading to the kitchen.

XXXXX

Sonny starts to run to the bathroom but stops when a wave of dizziness hits. Oh yeah, he barely ate last night. The few bites he managed just didn’t settle right. To make things even worse, the dull ache in his side from yesterday has morphed into a constant throbbing agony. Shit. He can’t help but let out a pained whimper when he bends to turn on the water, aggravating his pulsating side. He gently takes off his t-shirt and lets out another curse when he sees the deep blues and purples with a little yellow marring his left side. Fuck. Rafi is going to kill him. 

He needs to get showered, dressed, and out of there before Rafael can see how bad he’s hurting. Thankfully, he’s able to keep the nausea at bay as he brushes his teeth. Thank god because puking with this ache in his side would be murder. 

He’s hunched over as he painfully makes his way from the sink to the shower. Just as he’s about to finish getting undressed and hop in the shower, a loud knock on the door jerks his body in alarm. And whatever hold Sonny had on the pain that’s engulfing his side, is instantly gone. Black dots in his periphery soon grow into complete darkness as he falls to the ground. As he fades into unconsciousness, he’s pretty sure that he can hear Raf calling his name through the door.

Shit. I promised him I was okay. He’s going to kill me…


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Barba. Hey. So is this you calling to tell me that Carisi’s running late. That something or should I say someone caused him to lose track of time.”  
> “Liv. I’m at St. Bart’s with Sonny.”  
> The smile on Liv’s face is instantly gone. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to one of his parents?”  
> “No. His parents are fine. I’m in the waiting room. Sonny’s being examined.”

Rafael makes both himself and Sonny a cup of coffee. As he’s finishing a piece of coffee cake, he looks at the clock that’s on the microwave. 8:05. And Sonny is still in the bathroom. Shit. Liv is going to have his ass. Great. He can hear it now. He’s no doubt going to be on the receiving end of numerous jabbing texts in which Liv makes subtle and not so subtle comments about his role in Sonny’s tardiness.   
Normally, he is the source behind Sonny being late for work. But not today. 

Maybe he should give Liv a call or send a text her way letting her know Sonny’s running late? He already has his phone out but stops himself. Sonny hates it when he texts Liv on his behalf. He’s already having a rough start this morning, Rafael better check with him first. 

Hearing the shower running, Rafael knocks loudly on the door. “Babe? You want me to text Liv? Tell her you’re running late?”

But instead of hearing Sonny’s voice, Rafael hears a loud groan and then a thud. What the fuck is that? “Sonny!”

Rafael doesn’t wait for an answer and rushes into the bathroom. He feels all the blood leave his face. Sonny’s still form is sprawled on the tile, facing away from the door. Rafael kneels by his partner’s unresponsive form, ignoring his knees cracking as he plops himself into the uncomfortable position. “Sonny! What the hell!”

But Sonny remains unresponsive. “Damn it, Sonny! Answer me!” Barba pleads as he rolls Sonny onto his back. When he sees the collection of colors that’s covering his partner’s side, his concern skyrockets to full blown panic. He taps Sonny’s clammy cheek in an attempt to rouse the unconscious man. “What the fuck happened to you, Sonny?!”

Sonny remains oblivious to his partner’s panic. Rafael looks frantically around the bathroom for his cell phone that he dropped in his haste rushing to Sonny’s side. He ignores the trembling in his hand as he dials 911. His other hand is resting on Sonny’s pale neck, feeling a slow but steady pulse. Thank god. “You better be okay. That way I can kick your ass when you get better.”

After way too many rings, a dispatcher finally picks up. “911. How can I assist you today?”

Rafael looks down at Sonny’s still form. “Yes, I need an ambulance. There’s something wrong with my partner.”

XXXXX

“Donut?” Fin asks holding out the box to the lieutenant.

Liv shakes her head. “Nah, I’m good. I already had one.”

“I’ll take another,” Rollins grabs her third. She sees Liv and Fin’s amused looks. She motions to her pregnant stomach. “What? Remember I’m eating for two now.”

Fin shrugs. “Fine with me. Might as well enjoy them since Carisi isn’t here to take all the jelly.”

“Yeah where is Carisi?” Rollins asks as she takes a bite out of her donut. She turns to Liv. “You know why he isn’t here yet? It’s not like him to be late.”

Liv shakes her head. Just as she’s about to say something, her phone rings. Barba. He’ll know what’s going on with Carisi. “Speak of the devil.”

“Carisi?” Rollins asks.

Liv shakes her head.

“Barba?” Fin surmises.

Liv excuses herself to take the call. Rollins and Fin don’t need to witness her busting Barba’s chops. With the other members of her squad out of hearing range, she smiles as she answers the phone. It’s time to have a little fun. “Barba. Hey. So is this you calling to tell me that Carisi’s running late. That something or should I say someone caused him to lose track of time.”

“Liv. I’m at St. Bart’s with Sonny.”

The smile on Liv’s face is instantly gone. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to one of his parents?”

“No. His parents are fine. I’m in the waiting room. Sonny’s being examined.”

Now Liv is really confused. What happened that landed Carisi in the ER?

“I don’t…What happened?”

“I was hoping you can tell me. He was a little off last night when he came home. Quiet. Didn’t eat much dinner and passed out on the couch. Then this morning he overslept. He never oversleeps. So while he’s in the bathroom washing up for work, I hear him fall. I walked in to see him passed out on the floor. His side’s a mess. He’s bruised to hell, Liv. The EMT’s are talking about internal bleeding and blunt force trauma. Do you have any idea what happened?”

Liv is stunned. She honestly doesn’t have a clue what could have happened that resulted in Carisi getting injured. “Rafa, I’m sorry but I don’t have any idea what happened. Fin, Rollins, and I spent most of yesterday in interrogation while Carisi was checking out the house of two suspects in a case. None of us were around to see him get hurt. And he didn’t fill out an accident report.”

“Shit. Okay. Can you see what you can find out?”

“Of course, Rafa. I’ll make some calls as soon as I get off with you and let you know what I find.”

“Thanks, Liv.”

“Okay. And please let me know what the doctors say.”

“Will do.”

“I’ll talk to you soon.”

XXXXX

Rafael ends the call. That was pointless. Liv knew nothing about what happened to Sonny.

“Does Sonny’s boss know what happened?” Bella asks as soon as she sees that he has hung up. 

Rafael leans back against the wall tiredly, shaking his head.

Bella lets out a snicker. “Of course she doesn’t. He probably didn’t even fill out an accident report.”

“You’re two for two. Maybe you should follow in your brother’s footsteps and join the NYPD,” Rafael replies.

She lets out another snort as she begins texting. Probably either Gina or Teresa. “Fuck no. Sonny can have it. Besides, my mother would have a fit if two of her children were cops.”

“Fair enough,” Rafael says as he begins typing an email to his TA asking him to cancel today’s class and office hours. “Did you tell your sisters?”

Bella nods. “I did. Gina is going to leave work early. But Teresa is currently in the Bahamas with Dr. Brock Jennings.”

“Nice. A tropical vacation sounds great right now," Rafael says running his hand over his stubbled chin. "Thank you for getting in touch with them.”

Bella pats his face playfully. “No problem, Rafael. You did the hard part, telling mom and dad. I got off easy with telling my neurotic sisters.”

“You did hear what you just said, right?”

Bella waves off his comment. “Please, I’ve been dealing with them for years. Neurotic is one of the nicer things I’ve said about them. Are mom and dad on their way?”

Rafael nods his head. “They are.”

“Do you want me to get you some coffee? Maybe run to the liquor store and get you something stronger.”

“As tempting as that sounds, I would rather not smell like a boozer when your parents get here. Or when the damn doctor comes out here to talk to us.”

Bella shrugs. “If you say so. Don’t say I didn’t offer.”

Rafael gives her a tired smile. He definitely made the right call by calling Bella on the way to the hospital. She made in to the hospital in record time and has been a relief as soon as she walked in. Not only did she take care of contacting Sonny’s sisters but she has also been a source of calm and reassurance. Yes, she is concerned and anxious but she isn’t panicked and flustered. Her peaceful demeanor has helped bring Rafael off the ledge that he’s been teetering on since he found Sonny on their bathroom floor.

“Raf,” Bella says getting Rafael’s attention. He looks up from his phone to see a doctor making his way over to them. As he approaches them, they both stand.

“You’re here for Dominick Carisi?” the physician asks.

“We are,” Rafael answers. “How is he? Dr…”

“Dr. Wilkins,” he replies. 

“We don’t know what transpired that resulted in him getting hurt. I talked to his boss, but she has no idea,” Rafael explains.

Dr. Wilkins holds up his hand to stop him. “That’s not really important right now. We did an ultrasound and it appears that that he’s experiencing internal bleeding. Based on the location, we believe it’s his spleen. We’re going to go in to locate and stop the bleeding.” 

“Are you going to remove it?” Bella asks

“If we have to,” the doctor says.

“What do you mean if you have to?” Rafael asks exasperated.

“Like I said, my plan is to go in and do two things. First, locate the exact source of the bleeding. And two, stop the bleeding. If we can stop the bleeding without removing the spleen, then we won’t remove it. If we have to remove it to stop the bleeding, we will. Do you have any other questions?”

They both shake their heads. 

“Okay then, we’re going to head up to surgery. We’ll know more once we get him into surgery. You can go up to the surgical waiting room on the 8th floor. You’ll probably be more comfortable there.”

“We will.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

With that, Dr. Wilkins disappears back behind the double doors.

“Jesus,” Bella says turning to Rafael.

Rafael lets out a tired sigh. “My sentiments exactly.”

**Author's Note:**

> This episode had sooo much potential for some Carisi whump, but the writers passed on it. I just couldn't...


End file.
